The flames died
away; the heat and pain lessened; and the darkness gave way to a gray
emptiness. No one, not a single soul, was there with him. Axel stared
down at his body; it seemed complete, and still covered by an
organization Black Cloak. No – No, this can't be right! I should
be – There's not supposed to be – All at once the emptiness of
the void rushed up and hit Axel square in the gut. He sank to his
knees, and wept.

He
was utterly, and completely alone.

Eventually
the tears dried and gave way to a solemn acceptance of his fate.
After all, Nobodies were never completely alive, why should they be
granted a complete death? Some time passed (though how much was
impossible to determine) and Axel's thoughts began to drift back to
his life. Heartbreakingly, he could not recall any memories from a
time before the Organization. They were there – he knew they were –
but out of reach. This saddened him even more; only there were no
more tears to shed.

Roxas.

Of
his remaining memories, Axel could only bare to relive those of his
time with Roxas, his only true friend. Maybe, he thought, maybe if
things had been different, and neither of us was a Nobody, we could
have been real friends. With Hearts. Maybe… We were real
friends, he reminded himself. Those feelings were real!

Nobodies
cannot feel anything.

I
did! I felt his friendship!

To
feel requires a Heart, an artifact that you lack.

I
had a heart! So did Roxas!

Roxas
was special; you are delusional.

Go
away.

You
can never be rid of me ___.

That's
not my name.

Would
you rather go by 'Axel', the name of your incomplete self?

Shut
up! Go away!

As
long as there is a single thought in your head, I will –

"I
said shut up!" Axel screamed with hidden fury. Fire radiated out
from his body in a wave that dissipated at a six-foot radius; hands
were clamped tightly around the cross-shaped center handles of his
chakram. The voice in his head no longer spoke, an altogether
depressing prospect, for he was suddenly alone again.

"Maybe…
maybe I am delusional." He slumped back down. "No, Axel, you are
not delusional," came a gruff voice from somewhere in the void.

Axel
sprang to his feet again, summoning his chakram once more (or had he
never put them away?), ready to fight. "Who's there?" A deep
chuckle echoed out of the gray void, followed by the image of a man
dressed in an ornate red-and-black robe. His face was also obscured
by red bandages, Axel noticed as the image became more defined and
real.

"Forgive
me. In a former life, I was called 'Wise', but I am undeserving
of that title now - have not been for almost a decade. I am now known
to all as 'DiZ'."

"DiZ,
huh? Yeah, I know you. You gave Lexeaeus and Zexion some trouble back
in Castle Oblivion right?"

DiZ
grinned a wicked grin. "Yes, I think I had something to do with
that."

The
chakram vanished, and Axel sat back down. "Well, here we are, pal:
in Hell. Got it memorized?" Even his catchphrase failed to lift his
spirits – that is, if he even has one.

"No,
not Hell. Purgatory. Or something similar."

"Whatever,
point is: we're stuck here." Axel looked up at his strange
companion. "How can you stand it?"

"What,
this place? I've lived in worse."

"No,
not that – well, yeah – but the voices: your thoughts al
screaming to be heard at once. How can you stand the ceaseless,
maddening noise in you head, where every thought you have has to be
fought for over all the others, and that if you slip up, for even a
second, you mind drive yourself insane?"

DiZ's
face remained as stoic as ever. "I learned a long time ago to shut
out all of my fears and doubts and insecurities." Axel looked away
shamefully. "Perhaps talking will ease you mind."

"Yeah,
maybe…" But Axel remained silent for a long time, staring off
into the emptiness. DiZ waited patiently; it gave him time to think
about why he was here, and why Axel was here, and if he should be
more affected by this place than he was.

"I
miss… Roxas," Axel admitted quietly.

"Who?
…Oh, Sora's Nobody."

"No,
Roxas! He was more than just somebody's Nobody, he was my friend.
And a good person."

"You…
miss him… a lot?" DiZ asked carefully.

"Yes."

"You
kamikazed to save Sora. Or was it Roxas?"

"…A
little – a lot, actually – of both. I knew Roxas was never coming
back, so I wanted to protect that person that he had become."

"Then
you…"

"Yes."

The
conversation ended there. Neither spoke to each other for what seemed
like days. DiZ eventually joined Axel on the ground, though facing
away from him. Time passed slowly, if at all, in this realm. There
existed no features by which to judge distances, and no source of
light in the sky. The light appeared omnidirectional (if it was
indeed light) and so cast no shadows.

"You
know, I was once the beloved ruler of my world, "DiZ said suddenly.

"Oh,
yeah?" Axel replied apathetically. "What happened?"

"My
apprentices stole my research, cast me out, and took my name.
Outraged, I gave up my name – and with it, my personality, and
became… this." He gestured down at himself.

"What
happened next?"

"I
set out to get revenge, and killed myself in the process."

More
time passed.

"Where
do we go from here?" Axel asked.

"We
move forward, that's the only way out of this place."

"Which
way is forward?" Axel swung his head from side to side
dramatically.

"Any
direction, so long as it is away from here, and not the way we came."

Axel
smiled at this, even thought it wasn't a joke. "Good point."

As
the two of them got up to leave, light fell gently on their skin,
this time from a specific direction. "That is the way forward."
The both stared at the light; DiZ was even compelled to remove his
bandages.

"Never
forget," DiZ said.

"Forget
what?"

"Your
friends. Your dreams. Yourself. And that you are no longer a Nobody,
Axel. You have a Heart." Axel beamed. He had chosen to keep that
name, instead of his original, just as DiZ had.

Both
stood shoulder to shoulder and took one step toward the light. It
grew brighter. Another step. Brighter. A few more. The light nearly
engulfed the two of them. As they took the final steps into the
light, all of Axel's thoughts quieted and focused on one person
whose name he uttered one final time.

"Roxas."

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